What Tealive is
Tealive is a Malaysian-originated bubble tea brand, founded in 2017 by Loong Shing Je, the same entrepreneur who founded Inside Scoop. The brand grew aggressively and now operates 700+ outlets across Malaysia, with international expansion into Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Australia.
Tealive is the strongest homegrown competitor to Mixue in the Malaysian bubble tea market. Unlike Mixue, which leads on price, Tealive leads on flavour variety and brand energy.
Real cost to open a Tealive franchise in Malaysia
- Initial franchise fee: RM 30,000 - 60,000 - Fit-out + equipment: RM 100,000 - 200,000 - Rent + working capital: RM 100,000 - 250,000 - Total realistic cash required: RM 250,000 - 500,000
What the ongoing fees look like
- Royalty: 5-6% of gross revenue - Marketing fund: 2% of gross revenue - Term: 5 years, renewable - Supply: tea bases, syrups, and signature toppings come from Tealive-approved suppliers (some produced in-house by the brand)
What owners actually say
- Best case: a flagship location (mall, transit hub) can gross RM 35,000-60,000/month. Net RM 8,000-15,000/month. - Average case: secondary mall or high-street, RM 20,000-35,000/month gross. Net RM 4,000-8,000/month. - Worst case: saturation is the real risk. Some Klang Valley neighbourhoods have 2-3 Tealives within walking distance. Cannibalisation drags sales below RM 15,000/month.
The pattern is consistent with other major bubble tea brands: location is everything, and the brand's reputation doesn't make a bad location good.
The honest case for and against
For: - Strongest homegrown bubble tea brand in Malaysia - Aggressive marketing keeps the brand top-of-mind with younger customers - Founder track record (Loong Shing Je also built Inside Scoop)
Against: - Saturation risk in Klang Valley - 5-year term is short — the renewal is uncertain if KPIs aren't met - Limited menu flexibility (the brand controls the products) - The bubble tea category itself is showing fatigue in some demographics
If you want the bubble tea model with your own brand
A focused beverage concept with a small custom build can compete with the chains on margin:
- A custom POS that handles the lunch + tea-time rush without a queue - A subscription + loyalty system that keeps regulars coming back - A small delivery channel that doesn't pay 25-30% to delivery platforms
That's the kind of build our team does. See [how our AI Your Business arm works](/ai-agency-malaysia), or [browse Malaysian SMBs raising on pitchdeck.my](/browse).
This page is informational and is not affiliated with Tealive. Tealive is a trademark of Tealive Sdn Bhd.